Catholic school for deaf, hard-of-hearing students marks 100th year

Published: 2008-02-26

PITTSBURGH (CNS) -- As DePaul School for Hearing and Speech celebrates its 100th anniversary, the outlook for the school's deaf and hard-of-hearing students appears brighter than ever. Advances such as digital hearing aids and the school's stress on early intervention have greatly aided efforts to mainstream these children at increasingly younger ages into their home school districts. Sister Mary Jo McAtee, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill who is the school's director of educational services, gives a lot of credit to modern technology. She said high-tech hearing aids and cochlear implants -- electronic devices that help to provide a sense of sound -- have made a huge impact. "These kids get into your heart and you can't leave," she told the Pittsburgh Catholic, newspaper of the Pittsburgh Diocese. She taught at the school for two decades before becoming its education director three years ago. She called the school "a jewel" for her order.

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